News Release

Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, City Librarian Luis Herrera and members of the community will open the doors to the newly renovated Marina Branch Library on Aug. 4. Lion dancers, musicians and children’s entertainers will join in the celebration, which begins at 1 p.m.

Located at 1890 Chestnut St., Marina is the fourth branch to be renovated under the Branch Library Improvement Program, which is funded by a $105.9 million bond measure passed by voters in November 2000. This neighborhood treasure closed on Sept. 2, 2005 to undergo a major renovation. Visitors to this classy modernist building in a beautiful park setting will enjoy a new enclosed glass reading area, new browsing area, a revamped children’s room, designated teen area and new public restrooms. The library is now seismically safe, fully accessible and technologically updated with new computers and free WiFi access to the Internet. Project costs totaled $3.9 million.

A new glass enclosed reading area at the front of the building will bring in abundant light and offer library patrons a comfortable place to read and study. The reading area will contain new stacks on wheels, which can be moved to allow more space for author readings, book club meetings and other library programs and events.

San Francisco-based architectural firms Tom Eliot Fisch and Field Paoli took great care to preserve the modernist characteristics of the single-story, ranch-style building, which was constructed in 1954 and features exposed interior and exterior brick masonry and beamed ceilings. In designing the renovation, architects made sure to retain the 1950s feel of the original structure, “while bringing the facility into the 21st century in terms of energy conservation, accessibility to all users, changes in library service, and greater visibility in the community,” says Field Paoli architect Mark Schatz. The project was managed by San Francisco’s Department of Public Works.

Over the past two years, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library has been working in partnership with neighborhood residents and communities to raise funds, awareness and support for the branch improvements. Friends of the SFPL has contributed $500,000 towards the Marina Branch Library renovations, to pay for furnishings, fixtures and equipment—expenses not covered by the bond. Of this, $160,168 has been raised by the Marina Library Campaign Committee. The Committee’s total fundraising goal is $200,000.

For more information about the Marina Branch Library’s opening celebration, please call (415) 557-4277, or visit www.sfpl.org.

We voted to renovate and build new branch libraries across the City.
It's happening!